Stay-machine.



JOHN F. CALAHAN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HERBERT B. PERDEW, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

STAY-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1918.

Application filed January 30', 1917. I Serial N 0. 145,542.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, J oriN F. OALAHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement .in Stay-Machines of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to. a machine for making stays designed to be.used on wire fences. It very frequentlyhappens that the strands of which wire fences are constructed sag in places and when such a condition oc. curs it requires considerable labor' to straighten the wires. This laborhas been reduced to a minimum by the use of a very simple expedient such as a stay designed to be placed uponthefence and engage the re spective' strands of the wire spacing the same apart and supporting the same.

One of the principal objects ofmy invention is to produce a machine of simple form and construction upon which may be cheaply made fence stays of simple form which may be used for the purpose of spacing and supporting the strands ofrsuch fences. v

7 Other objectsand advantages will appear. hereinafter in the following specification Figure 1 is aside elevation of a fence wshowing theftype of stay made upon the machine as used. 1 I I Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine embodying my invention. a

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal .side view; partly in section of themachine shown in Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view on line 44, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view partly in section of the forming mechanism .of the machine. p r

The fence stay made upon the machine is illustrated in Fig. 1, as shown at 7, and'consists of a straight wire 8 turned back upon itself at 9 and such turned back portion loosely coiled upon the straight wire- 8 as i11 dicated at 10. Such-portion 10 is ofconsiderable larger diameter than the wirc' 8 thereby leaving-aseries of spaces between the coil and the straight wire. The stays are used by twisting the stay over the upper strand 11 of the fence then holding the strand 12 the proper distance from f the strand 11 and the stay twisted into engagementtherewith after which thejstrands 13 and 14 in succession are properly spaced and the coil 10 twisted into engagement there- The head-stock 17 and the tail-stock'19 are longitudinally connected by means of longitudinally disposed guide rods 20. Slidably mounted on the guide rods 20 is a forming die 21 consisting of a body portion 22 having a lug 23 extendlng upwardly therefrom at one side of the same and a wall 24 extending upwardly at the inner end of thediet said wall 24 terminating in a beveled edge 25 spaced apart from the adjacent edge of the lug 23 to form a throat 26 or entrance opening forthe wire to be fed to the die.

. 28 designates a longitudinally disposed shaft mounted in the head-stock 17 to the inner end of which-is secured by means of a pin 29 a hollow cylindrical mandrel 30 the outer end of which extends through a hole 31 in the wall 24 of the formingdie. The outer end of themandrel 30 is notched as indicated at Slidably mounted upon the guide rods 20 is a follower 34 having a lug 3,5 with an opening 36 therein in alinement with the hole 31 in the forming die, the opening 33' terminating inits upper portion in a trans verse slot 37 which extends through the lug.

38 designates coiled springs upon the guide rods 20 interposed between the follower 34 and an upright 39 formed on the tail-stock 19. The forming die 21 is elastically held in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 by the following mechanism:

40 designates an eye secured to the under side of the forming dieto' which eye is secured a cable 41. The, cable passes over a sheave 42 mounted upon a pin 43 in the tailstock 19, then passes around a sheave 44 in a block 45, thence around a sheave 46 mounted on abracket 47 on the base of the machine and having its end secured in an eye 48 in the block 45. The other end of the block is secured to a coiled spring 49 which in tur'nis secured to an eye 50 mounted upon the base 15 of the machine, the forming die by this apparatus being elastically held against the follower 34 which in turn is cushioned upon the springs 38 against the '-"59 formed on a clutch member 0, 3

" turn 1s dr1v.e n by agear. 7 5 mounted thereon,

" The mach ne s operated in the followlng upright 39 of the tail stock 19. The follower 3% is particularly for the purpose of affording a support for the end ofthe mandrel as the operation advances, the forward movement of the follower 34 bein limited by a headed bolt 51. The heade I bolt 51 is slidably mounted in the upright 39;;to,1i n it the forward movement Of5-tl16017 pulley 58 mounted on the tail sto'clr 19,, and

at the other end extending around a sprocket mounted upon, a stub shaft 61 but thereto rotatively and designedto be placed in engagen'ient with the member 62, and

thereby drive the sprocket 59, by; means of a wedge arm,'6 4 formed as one leg of a bellcrank 65 pivotally mounted at 66 upon a bridge 67 formed on the head-stock 17'. The

movement of the bell-crank 65 is controlled by means of a rod 68 slidablymounted on brackets69 on the base ofthe machine,

such'rod having a handle 70 secured atone end thereof:

71 designatesa stop which may be mounted atany desired' point upon the rod 68 for the purpose. of'automatically stoppingth e The,

machine as hereinafter described. clutch member 62 and shaft 61' are driven by meansof a beveled gear'73 from a spur 74: niountedonthe shaft 28, which shaft 28 in whieh gear. 7 5'is driven by a gear 7 6 mounted upon the' shaft 77- of an electric motor 7 6 mounted upon; an extension 79 of the base ofthe machine menm A piece of wire 8 approximately twice the length of the stay to be madeis used, one end of the wire being inserted inthe inandrel 30 until the end of the wire strikes against a filiing block 81, there having been a filling block or blocks inserted until the distancebetween the last filling block and the open end of; the mandrel is approximatelyjthe same as the length ofthe stay to be made on the machine. The wire is then bent at right angles as shown in Fig. 2 so that the bent over'portion 9 of the wire lies in" thefnotch in the outer end ofthe mandrel. Thevmachine is then set in motionby shifting the rocl 68 whicl moves the bell-crank tion of the arrow shown in Fig. 2, it being understood that the member 62 of the clutch is driven through the lnediuin of the gear 73 which is inv mesh with the gear-r74 on the shaft 28, the shaft 28 being driven through gears 75 and 76 from the motor 78. The wire is caught in the notched end of the mandrel; 30, the mandrel being rotated by means of'the shaft28, and the wire is wound in spiral form on the mandrel, the free end of the wire being carried forward, on the. mandrel 30 by the forming die21 until all of the free end of the wire is wrapped in. such shape upon the mandrel at whichtime the forming die. strikes the arm 71. on the shaft 68 and the continued movementof the forming diemoving the arm .71 operates the bell-crank 65 to disengage the clutch members 62 and 60, thereby stopping the movement of the chain 57.

ment of the followe r'by the: spring 53 is limited by thetrod 51 heretofore referredto,

and upon the completion of the spiral by the forward movement of" the; die, the

die is returned to its original position through themediuin of the cable 41 pulledby the spring 419, the forming diepushing before it the follower 34 untilfth'ef follower strikes the coiled'springs 3 8 which act as a cushion, arresting the movementof the jfol-v lower and form ng. dle. After the spiralhas been completed as i above described the same is removed from the mandrel through on said rods behind said die, saidfollower having an opening therethrough in alinement with the. opening in said die, coiled cushion springs onf said rods between. saidv tail-stock and said follower, a rod slidably extending through said tail-stock'fixed' to said follower, ahead on the outer endof said last-named rod, a coiled spring on said last named rod between said fgllower and'said taihstock, a shaft mounted: in saidhead;

stock, a hollow 'inandrel secured to said shaft: and having a notched outer. endex tending through the hole in said'die, a stub shaft in said head-stock, means for driving said stub shaft from said first named shaft,-

During the forward movement of the forming die above re ferred to, the follower 34: moves forward with the forming die, the mandrel'with the spiral wire thereon extending through the openings 36 in the follower which afiords a support for thesameto prevent unduevi bratlon of the mandrel. The forward move a clutch members on said stub shaft, a sprocket caHy returning said die after its forward on one of said clutch members, a sprocket movement.

mounted in said tail-stock, a chain running In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 1 over said sprockets, means for securing said my hand at Los Angeles, California, this die to said chain to move said die positively 23rd day of January, 1917.

forward, controlling means for said clutch operated by said die, and means for elasti- JOHN F. CALAHAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

